EU may lift guargum export ban

Domestic exporters are hopeful that the European Union (EU) would lift a ban on guargum imports within a month. Their optimism comes on the back of tests conducted on guargum samples from 100 in-bound shipments in the EU labs, which showed no signs of toxins.

A team of experts from the EU were to visit India on September 3 to test the samples for traces of toxins. The visit had been cancelled or postponed after examining the samples in the EU labs, said an exporter. "The tests have not found any traces of dioxin and pentachlorophenol in any of the samples," said Mahendra Bhanushali, president, Gujarat Guargum Manufacturers' Association.

The team was invited by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) in reply to a notification issued by the European Commission (EC) after traces of toxins were found in some of the food items made using guargum exported from India. The EU countries import about 20,000 tonnes of guargum from India each year.

Many companies of the nine EU countries had recalled batches of food additives containing guargum exported by an Indian company. "Reports coming from the EU nations suggest that the ban is likely to be lifted within a month," said Bhanushali.

Guargum exports appear to be unaffected despite the EU ban. Beating the ban, exports find their way into the EU indirectly through China and other countries, according to a Jodhpur-based manufacturer and exporter. However, exporters find the indirect route burdensome as they have to tap those firms, which export guargum to the EU.